Games Inbox: What if Sony made PS Vita 2 instead of PSVR2

The Thursday letters page is impressed by Star Wars Jedi: Survivor’s nods to the past, as readers react to the latest Activision Blizzard news.

To join in with the discussions yourself email gamecentral@metro.co.uk

Alternative hardware
So I see GC has taken delivery of its PlayStation VR2 headset, so I imagine we’ll be getting a review of it, and hopefully its games, next week. I’m sure it’ll be very impressive but it’s far, far too expensive for my means, especially when there only seems to be one must-have game at launch (if Horizon: Call Of The Mountain is even any good).

Much has been written about how the headset is a strange thing to release this early in the PlayStation 5’s life, pandemic or not, and I’d agree with that. What I think would’ve been a much better idea is a PS Vita 2, which would’ve likely been cheaper to make and sell, and yet would’ve had real usefulness outside of being a tech gimmick.

I’m genuinely surprised it never occurred to anyone given the success of the Switch, especially as Sony could’ve used it as a retro machine that plays every game on every previous console. It would then have really come into its own as a way to play streaming games. I only hope that that’s the reason they haven’t done it yet – that maybe they’re waiting for streaming to become bigger than it is right now.

I think that’s probably hoping too much though and that we’ll never again see another portable PlayStation, which is a real shame as the original PS Vita is still a beautiful bit of kit.
Mick

Standard pricing
I’m (not) looking forward to everyone complaining that Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom looks like it’s going to be £70 but while obviously I’d prefer it wasn’t I can’t think of a single game that would’ve been worth that much money as Breath Of The Wild. If Tears Of The Kingdom is even half as good it’d still be a steal.

I don’t think we need to read much more into this other than Nintendo have got to balance the books until the Switch 2 is ready and this is the best and simplest way to do it. So before you start complaining, remember that £70 is also the same price as such artless rubbish as Far Cry 23 and Call Of Duty 82. So if you’re happy paying that for those sort of games I can’t see how there can be any complaints about Zelda.

Do I wish all games were £50? 100% and I think it would ultimate make more money, as more people bought them, but I’m afraid that’s an argument that was lost long ago.
Suede

Spend money to make money
So the UK monopoly investigators have suggested that Activision Blizzard spin off Call Of Duty into a separate company and then Microsoft can by the rest? That would be hilarious if it happened, as Microsoft quickly backs out when it realises its bluff about not being that interested in Call Of Duty is called. They’re doing the deal mostly for mobile games? Yeah, chinny reckon!

I can’t see it happening but I’ve got not sympathy for Microsoft if this upsets their carefully laid out plans. They thought they’d just wade in, with wallets flashing, and get whatever they wanted instantly, but that’s not happening. They’ll probably got what they want very slowly, so you could argue it doesn’t really matter, but we’ll see.

As other readers have said. If they spent half as much time and money investing in their own first party developers and games maybe they wouldn’t have to buy other people’s. I mean, Halo Infinite felt like it was made by a dozen people on a shoestring budget and then half of them got laid off once it actually came out.
Shoukel

E-mail your comments to: gamecentral@metro.co.uk

Wisdom of age
That is a clever nod to Super Metroid in Star Wars Jedi: Survivor. Clever too as you don’t usually see that sort of thing in modern games, where they use the exact same idea as an old game but just for modern times. Shows you much there is to learn from the old classics if you pay attention and try to understand why they were so good, and that it wasn’t just nostalgia.

I now have a great deal more faith in the game then previously (not that I wasn’t interested already) and await the reviews with great interest. I do agree it’s a shame that the planet environments are so boring though. Sci-fi planets looking like a quarry is a criticism of 70s Doctor Who, it’s not something we should be applying to modern movies, let alone a video game that doesn’t even have to worry about real sets.
PixelImperfect

Give a hoot
I know this is seriously late to the party but I’d just like to commend the reader who named Moss: Book 2 in their Games Of 2022 list the other week, for their great taste. Despite the fact that it was the only thing
I played last year that actually came out last year I’d actually forgotten it came out in 2022, or else I’d have definitely voted for it in the poll myself as well.

It’s a great game and genuinely wonderful VR experience. Not for the first time, I’d strongly urge anyone who can to give it (and its predecessor) a try. I really hope Polyarc don’t subscribe to the Valve development philosophy and find a way to make a third entry one day.
yourhomeisatrisk

GC: Both games have PSVR2 ports, so the series still seems to be ongoing.

Licensed mayhem
Interesting idea about licensed games being the next thing that publishers are going to latch onto. I don’t see the logic at all but then expecting people to play 20 different battle royales with the same regularity as Fortnite was also pretty crazy. And let’s not even start on NFTs.

It’d be hilarious if every movie and show, not matter how minor or lacking in action, was suddenly turned into a game – just like the bad old days – but somehow I can’t see it. If this is all true though, I can see a gold rush towards signing up famous franchises.

Star Wars and Marvel are the obvious choices, especially as they aren’t tied to any one company, but there’s also things like DC, Star Trek, Game of Thrones, Lord of the Rings, and, dare I say, Transformers the haven’t had a big game in ages and yet are obvious prime fodder for games. If it weren’t for Hogwarts Legacy I’d say the same for Harry Potter (sort of, is it really that action packed? I never saw the appeal myself).

Point is, publishers are going to rush to sign these up until they start putting up with ever more obscure properties, until someone starts convincing themselves they should make a game out of Twilight or Gobots. I will watch to see how things progress with great interest.
Paulie

Blast processing
The reason that Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom costs nearly £70 is that the cartridge contains the mega-amazing double super FX chip 2000!

It enhances the graphics of the Switch to levels surpassing the CGI in the latest Avatar film! Probably.
Tim Keeling

Just business
This whole Activision takeover regulation thing is getting a bit much.

There was some reason for stopping it being an Xbox exclusive about holding back innovation in gaming.

These are only my opinions, so please remember that, but I personally don’t think Call Of Duty, as far as innovation is concerned, is the most innovative game I’ve ever played.

In fact, I’ll go as far as to say it really hasn’t moved on from its tried and tested template for over a decade.

That’s not to say I don’t enjoy it now and again, and its sales figures speak for itself, which let’s be honest is what this is really all about.

I get it, Sony PlayStation sales will suffer if Microsoft make that title a cast iron Xbox exclusive, because a lot of people want to play it.

I’m not sure on the legal ramifications but assuming Microsoft acquire Activision, then what is to stop them taking the team that makes Call Of Duty and making the same game in spirit and all but its name? Pushing that to the moon and back and making it an Xbox exclusive?

GTA 5 is one of the biggest selling games of all time but it’s not on the Switch.

Of course people will say, ‘Well, that’s a different audience, they’re not really looking for that sort of experience’.

That’s a perfectly rational argument to make but that’s my point.

What is to stop Microsoft releasing Call Of Duty on the Switch or mobile phones for that matter and just shrug their shoulders and say ‘it’s not a Game Pass exclusive though’?

If I was at Microsoft I would definitely be looking at different angles to come in at this once the dotted line has been signed.

That’s makes me sound like such tyrannical businessman.

I’m not, I assure you, I’m not even a businessman.

It’s just what I would expect a multi-million conglomerate to do to another multi-million conglomerate to get one over.
freeway 77
PS: Sod’s law, GTA 5 will probably get showcased on Wednesday’s Nintendo Direct, now I’ve said that.

Inbox also-rans
Message from the past, by the time you read this but I wonder what was in the Nintendo Direct? Did a new F-Zero get announced? Did Zelda look good? Are we finally getting a release for Mother 3? Hopefully by now I already know.
Getter

C’mon Metroid Prime 4! Hoping we’ll see at least a glimpse at the Nintendo Direct. On the other hand what I’m expecting is a bunch of remasters and a lot of Zelda. Not that that’s necessarily a bad thing.
Sedix

This week’s Hot Topic
The subject for this weekend’s Inbox was inspired by reader DM58 and asks what video game would you most like to see turned into a TV show?

Video game movies have seen some improvement in the last few years but it’s TV show The Last Of Us, along with Cyberpunk: Edgerunners and Arcane, that has been the critical breakthrough, so what other games and franchises would you like to see get a similar treatment?

What format what you like it to have in terms of being live action or animated? Are there any particular actors, directors, or writers you’d like to see involved and how many episodes and seasons should the show run for?

E-mail your comments to: gamecentral@metro.co.uk

The small print
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